I can't say no to this:
a hobbyist makes what they want to make.
(anything is fine, as long as they are happy)
an indie makes what they want to make... under the pressure of popularity.
(anything is fine, but needs to be well known, wants to impress the press)
---
a hobbyist creates from imagination, from playing games, etc.
(they know themselves what they find is fun, even though it disagrees with design trends)
an indie creates with structure, from "reading" games, etc.
(they have gained too much knowledge on what is "good" from others so that they are to repeat what everyone else is making)
Majority of indie games is repetitive and really follows the same pattern as major industry games. "What others did + something new". And the way I see it, this article puts hobbyist much closer to independently creating artists than to indie game makers. Perhaps because majority of indie game makers do not seem to believe so much in ideal of independence and freedom of creation never dictated or invaded by sales or opinions.
